A Place We Belong
by Yoonggi
Summary: "We'll always be together, right Darling?" Orphaned kids, Kota and Eri build a friendship together. Each of the two, fighting their own respective demons from their past. The two radically different children soon become each other's pillar of strength a source of warmth and comfort that will always be there.
1. Chapter 1

**A:N/ This was an itch story that I had on my mind for a while. This story is inspired by Zero Two and Hiro's dynamic in the anime Darling in the Franxx. Since Zero Two's appearance actually reminded me a lot about Eri's when she was younger (save for the red skin) I wanted to try and pair up My Hero Academia's two most adorable kids in a light-hearted centered fic. that revolves around Kota's apparent case of gynophobia around Eri.**

 **I'll be updating this frequently so tell me how it goes when you finish reading it!**

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Red Strings of Fate

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Kota's POV:

It was just another stupid and pointless day when I woke up. I'm a little bit happy though, since today is the day that I get to meet Deku again. I quickly grabbed my hat from my nightstand and went out of my room with a grin on my face.

"Well someone's awfully excited." I heard Shino teasing me from the kitchen when I went downstairs.

I cocked my head back and yelled back at her in annoyance. "Shut up! I am not excited!" as much as I like to deny it, I am pretty excited to see Deku and his friends. Shino made me my breakfast, a simple plate of eggs and bacon still does the trick. I quickly gorged on my food so that we can leave earlier. I couldn't help but feel stoked to see what Deku and his friends have up their sleeves for their Cultural Festival being held at their school.

"You ready to go?" Shino asks and I nod in response.

I couldn't help but feel a little bit anxious when I was lacing up my shoes. Red - they were the same sneaker brand that Deku wore when he beat that bastard, Muscular. The confidence that I feel when I wore my new shoes makes me feel like as if I were Deku – brave and strong.

Shino soon started up the car and drove us to U.A. I was on the edge of my seat when we saw the school grounds from afar. There was a huge entrance with various decorations and stalls. I could go on and on with the amount of stuff that they had there. I quickly got out of the car and went to explore on my own. Shino and the gang allowed me to roam around, since it was a safe event to begin with.

"Aniki!" I quickly covered my mouth when I blurted that out. Deku turned around when he heard my voice. I always wanted to call him that ever since he stood up for me. My idol and brother-figure stood in front of me with a stupid dopey grin on his face.

"Kota-kun! I'm so glad to see you! Thanks again for the letter that you sent me!" He kept shaking my hand as if I were the one that saved him. I felt embarrassed and at the same time, really happy that I made a difference in his day.

"There you are you, little rascal." Uh oh, busted. Shino and the others caught on to us.

"Deku-nii?" I heard a girl's voice call out to Deku from afar. I saw her peeking through the door with her shy demeanor, she looks like a timid kitten from afar.

I was baffled at the stranger clinging to Deku. "What the hell?" I blurted out rudely.

There weren't plenty of times that I curse since Shino would hit me and nag that I was being rude. But this was one of the few times that I couldn't stop myself from cursing out. It was so random that I felt Shino's eyes were already boring holes through me.

"Aniki! Who the hell is she calling Deku-nii?" I pointed a figure towards Deku, feeling betrayed. He was my idol! Why the hell is a girl calling him brother?

"Kota, this is Eri-chan. She's about your age and she's going to stay with us for a while." Deku explained to me while the girl named Eri was hiding behind his leg.

"Aniki! She has cooties!" I instantly got hit on the head by Shino, urging me to bow and apologize to the girl. Girls have cooties! They're always so noisy and bratty that it drives me nuts when I'm around them!

"Cooties? What's that?" Eri asks me. My eyes widened when I saw her small horn on her forehead. She got too close to me and I felt the spikes on my hat hitting her horn. Seeing her flinch from the sharp points of my hat made me feel bad.

"I'm sorry…" I mumbled when I saw her tending to her horn when my hat poked on it.

"It's alright... What's your name?" her white hair and her blood red eyes made her a little intimidating. Now that I think about it, I'm really a stark contrast compared to this girl. She was more timid than me, probably more younger as well.

They say that people are bound by fate. It's all a bunch of crazy-talk if you ask me. Isn't there a way to defy fate? All that dumb talk about fate and red strings from the other class booth was getting to me. Their play was so cheesy; it was about two lovers crossing a bridge made of birds just to see each other! How ridiculous is that? Anyway, getting caught too much in my thoughts, I hid my face a little bit from under my cap and replied back to the girl.

"Kota." I said to her while looking down on the ground. A student who was rushing towards the main hallway bumped into us. The box that she was carrying fell onto both me and Eri.

"Koucchan...?" the girl from me tested. I nodded simply and allowed her to call me that for a while. I guess it's better than nothing right? Being called by my family name is always a hard thing for me.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized. The box that fell on us contained plenty of streamers and confetti. Deku helped us in removing the junk that was on me and Eri. After the student went out of her way, I noticed something on my pinky.

"Where did this come from?" I say as a single red thread tied into a knot on my pinky. Tracing back the thread, I saw it lacing around on Eri towards her pinky as well.

"Koucchan...? Are you okay...?" she asks while removing some pieces of paper and confetti off of her head.

I grabbed a few stray ones that she missed right behind her ear. "I should be asking you that." after checking if there's any paper of trace of confetti left, I patted Eri on the shoulder to reassure her. "Alright, you're all clean now..." I mumbled. Eri turned around with a shy nod and a small smile on her face.

I felt something weird happening inside me when the string intertwined with hers. For the remainder of the day, I got to know more about Eri from Deku's story. From how they rescued her to what she's been through. I never thought that girls were this tough. How could a girl that looks so defenseless be this strong? We spent the day hanging out and going to plenty of booths together. Not only that, but we played plenty of games together. I guess I had fun, even if she's a girl, I guess she's also pretty cool...

"Let's definitely meet again, Darling!" she grins at me when we were about to leave. I know what 'Darling' means ever since we saw a play done by some students. Eri and I watched this play about a Princess Demon that fell in love with a handsome Prince. The story didn't have a happy ending because the Fairy that gave the Princess Demon turned out to be a witch. The story went on with the Demon Princess marrying the prince. Though in the end of the story she had to leave the Prince because his life was in danger because of her presence. It was so weird when she called me that. I decided to roll with it since I would probably not even come back here for a while, I'm sure Eri would forget calling me that.

It didn't stop me from being embarrassed though from all the teasing that Deku's classmates did. "Shut up! And don't call me Darling, it's weird!" truth be told, I thought only lovey-dovey couples called each other that? I was told that I was her first friend that was around her age. I guess she called me that to make me feel special? I'm overthinking things like an adult again, but I wish she wasn't such an airhead sometimes... "I'll come back and play again sometime..." I kicked some imaginary dirt off the ground and looked at Deku then back at Eri. Today was fun. It was the most fun I've had in a long time, I guess I'd really miss coming back here after all.

Eri held up her pinky before me with a grin on her face, all her shyness from earlier seemingly melting away. "Pinky promise me that you'll be back, Darling?" there it is again, her weird way of calling me. I laughed it off and nodded. I laced my pinky around her's before promising.

"I promise to come back here soon. See you later..." I bowed politely at them before joining in Shino outside. U.A. gave me a great and warm experience, I can't wait t'ill the next time that I come back there!

"I think she likes you." Shino quips as she starts the car up. I huffed and turned away. I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy that I made a friend like Eri today.

I held out my pinky still remembering my pinky promise with Eri earlier. I avoided Shino's teasing look by looking out of the window to not seem interested."She has cooties..." I muttered quietly.

~ End

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 **A:N/ So I added a few more things that are a reference to Darling in the Franxx, such as the story book and Eri's horn bumping onto Kota's spikes on his hat. There hasn't been an Eri x Kota fic. yet from what I recall (no, this will not be a sappy drama story) I said it before and I will say it again, this story is meant to be a series of heart-warming exchanges between Eri and Kota as they grow up (I might make the part where they grow up in future chapters)**

 **Thanks again for finishing the read! See you in the next chapters Darlings! xD**

 **EDIT: I changed a few things here and there from the last version of this. I'll be doing some edits every now and then, so be sure to re-read the chapters when you have the time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A:N/ Okay so right off the bat... I'm going to tell you that this chapter is pretty hard-hitting in terms of the feels. I felt the need to add this bit in since this is what Eri and Kota need in order to develop their characters. It's a little bit rushed, but I couldn't help myself from updating as soon as I received all those positive reviews and follows from you guys!**

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The Princess and her Prince

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Ever since Kota had come to visit U.A during the Cultural Festival, the little boy had been requesting for more trips back so that he can see Eri. The boy tried so hard to deny that he was already quite attached to the girl. The two children had been inseparable ever since.

"Darling!" Eri waved from afar as she saw Kota entering the Heights Alliance building. She ran up to him to hug her friend. Kota squirmed uncomfortable under Eri's grasp. Ever since his hat poked her horn, he was always extra careful when around Eri since it might happen again.

"Eri… Don't get too close, you might get hurt again…" the little boy muttered. Kota pried himself away from Eri after much protest from the girl.

Kota and Eri's friendship grew and blossomed over their time spent with each other. The two children were like two peas in a pod. Kota was still easily flustered around Eri. Something about the little girl made Kota's chest tighten. He still becomes nervous every time Eri got in contact with him.

"Darling? What's school like?" Eri asks one day. There was a look of confusion that flashed on Kota's face. He turned to Deku for answers. All the kids their age go to school, so why was Eri asking him what school is like?

"Aniki… What's she talking about? Eri goes to school too, right?" Kota pressed on. He noticed the uncomfortable glances that Deku and his friends were giving him. It felt so wrong that Eri couldn't go to school with the other kids. But he didn't know why they didn't allow her to. He wanted to find answers.

"Kota… Eri's being home schooled here, with us. They want to keep her safe here so that we can teach her how to use her quirk better…" Deku rested his hands on Kota's shoulder. He was also scared to tell Kota the truth. Every single one of them wanted Eri to go to a normal school, but it was still prohibited by the board of directors.

"Darling..." Eri frowned when Kota left them. The boy quickly secluded himself and hid from them.

Kota didn't bother talking anymore. He kept to himself and walked away from the group of teenagers and Eri. He felt guilty that he took for granted the opportunity of going to a normal school. There were so many things that Eri was missing out on. He found it stupid that they were keeping her holed up in U.A.

"Ohh… What brings you roaming around here, little one?" Principal Nezu was coming back from his office when he saw Kota wandering around the school grounds. He went over to talk to the child to ask him what's on his mind. Nezu's intellect came with additional instincts. The animal was capable of distinguishing emotions judging from the person's tone of voice and facial expressions.

"Principal Nezu… Why can't Eri go to school like me?" he asks to the animal. Nezu invited the two of them over back to his office so that he can explain Kota the situation better. Kota swayed his legs shyly when it was just the two of them discussing things over a cup of tea. He felt like an adult being in front of the principal of U.A.

"I understand your concern to towards Eri-chan. Kota-kun, you're her precious friend. I'm thankful that Eri-chan was lucky to meet you." Everyone at U.A. was somewhat reluctant when they were told by the higher ups that they couldn't let Eri out of the premise of U.A. It had something to do about the public image of U.A. being tarnished if Eri uses her quirk outside and goes out of control.

"You're a good boy, Kota-kun. The board of directors doesn't want us to let Eri out of the U.A. premise because they fear that she could harm or kill anyone with her dangerous quirk. Kota felt hurt when people saw Eri in that light. He was being told the heavier side of things that people mostly won't tell to children.

"Then why can't you tell them otherwise?!" he clenched his fists tight, confused and irritated at how the adults look at Eri with fear, as if she's a monster. It felt familiar, that feeling of being an outcast by adults. When his parents died, adults would only look down on him and pity him. No one was there for Kota to relate to. Shino did her best to provide Kota with all the love and affection that he missed out on, but Kota couldn't bring himself to accept it. He feared that he was only being pitied upon by his aunt.

"They think that Eri's a possible threat and menace..." Nezu frowned.

"She's not a monster!" Kota argued. He was angry, but Nezu knew that his heart was in the right place. He calmly walked over to the boy and hugged him. Kota didn't try to struggle when Nezu was only patting him on the back.

"I'm really glad that Eri-chan made a friend like you. Thank you for being there for Eri-chan, Kota-kun." Kota cried onto the principal's shoulder. He was still a kid. The choices and things that he's already made and experienced is already alike with what adults have gone through. It was all too much for him to bear when he was hit with the reality that a kid his age would be a castaway as well.

"Life is so unfair, Principal…" Kota muttered to Nezu when he was wiping away his tears. The animal chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

"My, oh my, you kids aren't acting your age. Don't think about these complicated things for now, okay Kota-kun?" Nezu hugged the young boy before setting him off. He felt proud that a young boy like Kota had already been strong enough to handle his battles. Maybe too strong, because he felt that Kota became too strong on his own that he forgot that he was still a child.

"Ahhh! Darling!" Eri spotted Kota coming out of Principal Nezu's office. His eyes were all puffy and red. She quickly went over to him to ask the boy what was wrong.

"A-Are you crying?" Eri asked while panicking a little. She didn't want him to feel embarrassed or upset. She was told of Kota's tendency of pushing away people because he didn't want to get hurt over others again. It was all complicated adult stuff in Eri's mind. All she was concerned about right now was her friend.

"D-Darling? What happened?" she asked again. Kota shrugged while staring at the floor. His hat covered his face so that Eri wouldn't see him crying. After he quickly wiped away his face, he looked up to her with a grin on his face.

"Last one to Aniki's room has to hand over their snacks!" the boy turned heel and quickly sped towards the dormitory of Deku and his friends. Eri grinned ear-to-ear as she and Kota started racing around wildly towards Deku's room at the Heights Alliance. The two children ran without worry. They laughed and sped away from the weights that burdened them both. None of them felt compelled to look back or feel worried. They were being kids for once. It brought a sense of relief to the numerous teachers in U.A. when they saw the rowdy pair of kids.

Before they knew it, the two of them were running hand-in-hand.

"Darling!" Eri yelled while the wind was rushing towards their faces. Kota turned to her with his own wide grin.

"Yeah?! What is it?!" he yelled back. They were home stretch on the Heights Alliance building. A straight cobblestone path that led to the building was the only thing in front of them right now.

"I'm having so much fun!" Eri and Kota arrived at the building soon after. The two kids were panting for breath. Deku and the other 1-A students were wondering what came over the two children when they started to run. Nonetheless, everyone was on board with the idea.

Mina took pictures of Kota and Eri when they were both smiling and running towards the door of the dorm. Ochako and the others were also gushing at the two adorable kids. Even Bakugo who didn't bat an eye at first, couldn't help but grin and pat Kota on the head.

"Good job shrimp, she's infected you with her cooties now." Bakugo teased. Kota then realized that his hand was still holding Eri's, quickly dropping her hand and covering his embarrassed faced. The little boy argued with Bakugo, dousing the older boy with his quirk.

"I do not have her cooties!" Kota argued once more, while running around the room chasing Bakugo.

~ End

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 **A:N/ How'd you guys like chapter 2? Tell me in the reviews your thoughts if you liked it! Also, please keep in mind that some spelling errors may be apparent for now, but I promise that I'm proof reading it everyday. I just wanted to publish these chapters out since I'm gauging the amount of reader-views that I get. It helps me adjust my story to bring a more fun reading experience for you guys.**

 **Btw. I kinda feel like people think that Eri using the world 'Darling' on Kota is pretty tacky and weird? I think I get that vibe off because it's something that I took homage from the Darling in the Franxx anime. My reason for this is because Kota is the only friend that Eri has that's around her age. In a way, she sees Kota as someone that's so similar to her, that she gets more and more curious/attached towards Kota's prickly personality - eventually softening up our little boy! xD**

 **Thanks again for finishing the read! See you in the next chapters Darlings! xD**


	3. Chapter 3

**A:N/ Sorry it took so long for me to update! I was having some serious writer's block recently which is why I wasn't able to update as frequently as I did a few months ago. Anyway, sorry for the long wait, here's chapter 3 of Darling and Cooties!**

 **P.S: Thank you for taking the time to read this story, review if you have the time! (It also helps speed up to process for more chapters)**

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Stray Dandelions

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The rain kept constantly pouring down on the cold morning of July. Dressed up in his formal clothes, Kota clenched the flower bouquet in his hands. It was the third anniversary of his parents' death. Everyone knew about it except for Eri. Kota didn't have the heart to tell his friend about this day. Earlier, the boy picked up the fresh bouquet of lilies from his parents' old friends. The boy stood alone in front of the headstone of his parent's, ever so vigilant and saddened.

"Hey mom… Hey dad…" Kota choked back on his tears, running his hands across the headstones that read his parent's name along with the 'Izumi' characters. Plenty of heroes were friends with the famous Water Hose duo. The rain masked away Kota's tears that fell on his face. The melancholic atmosphere that surrounded the lone boy was depressing to see.

From the corner of his eye, Kota spotted a dandelion that was growing near the groves of the headstones. A small smile crept up on Kota's face; familiar warmth encompassed his chest. When he was younger, his parents always told him that should he ever miss them, he would need to find a dandelion and wish on it.

"I guess it's worth a shot…" Kota plucked the flower from the ground and held it up against his face. The boy closed his eyes and scrunched up his nose, silently wishing for the presence for his deceased parents.

 **(Play the song: Winter is coming by Han Soo Ji)**

A few moments later, it somehow stopped raining when Kota opened his eyes. The boy wondered what was happening, but was immediately taken aback when he saw a yellow umbrella hovering over his head.

"Darling… Why didn't you tell me that you're hurting…" Eri's sweet voice was like music to Kota's ears. However his face faltered, he wanted to smile for her and tell her that he was fine, but his face betrayed what he wanted to do.

"Who told you?" Kota asked, looking down on the stone pavement of the wet graveyard. Eri hummed shook her head.

"Nobody." She quips, standing next behind to Kota before paying her respects to Kota's parents. It boggled Kota how she got here all of a sudden.

'And here I thought those dandelion wishes were a bunch of baloney…' the boy chuckled whilst wiping off his tears.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eri asked, slightly hurt that Kota didn't trust her enough to tell her. The girl was allowed to go outside this day when Principal Nezu told her that today was a special day for Kota. The principal knew what Kota was going through, which is why he pulled some strings to allow Eri to go find Kota.

"How did you find me?" Kota asked, wondering how Eri knew this place when she told him that no one told her where to go.

"I followed the dandelion trails. I know it's silly, but they distracted me while I was passing by. That's when I saw you." She explained with a small smile on her face.

Kota didn't care if the two of them got wet when he lunged forward to hug Eri. The boy wrapped his arms around her securely and rested his head onto her shoulder.

"Darling… Are you crying?" Eri asked teasingly while Kota was still hugging her. The once pouring rain lessened into drizzle, lightly sprinkling onto the two of them.

"No… There was just something in my eye earlier." Kota pried himself away from Eri, wiping away the tears. The grin on the boy's face said something. Apart from his bloodshot eyes and wet-messy hair, he felt glad that Eri was there with him.

"Deku-nii and the others are waiting for you back in U.A. Wanna come?" Eri smiled. Kota gladly accepted the offer and took her hand, picking up the yellow umbrella as they went on their way. The bouquet of lilies sat comfortably on top of the headstones. The flowers the represented Kota's sorrows and grief decorated the wet headstones.

As the two kids were walking away, two figures came up to the headstones with big smiles on their faces. Dressed in their hero costumes, the apparitions crouched down and held the bouquet of white lilies on their hands.

"Honey… Our little boy remembered…" Itsuki Izumi's ghost smiled whilst cradling the bunch of flowers gently on her hands.

"I'm happy for him. It's a good thing that the girl from earlier saw the dandelion trails from earlier." Nariyuki Izumi joked to his wife. The two of them watched from afar earlier when Kota came under the pouring rain to pay his respects.

"Do you think he'll be fine out there in the big world?" Itsuki asked worriedly to her husband. Nayuki chuckled and kissed the top of his wife's head.

"Of course, honey! He's our son! I'm already darn proud that he wants to be a hero one day." Nariyuki then held out his hand towards his wife with a smile. "You ready to go?" Itsuki accepted the hand and stood up.

"Plus, Kota's got her now. They're so precious together!" Itsuki gushed to her husband as they faded away, hugging and laughing together.

End

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 **A:N/ So how was it? I think I nailed it with the whole 'umbrella' part where Eri holds her umbrella over Kota. Also! The dandelion wishes are a popular thing in many places in the world! Which is where I drew inspiration from when Kota blows onto it and when he opened his eyes... Eri was there! He wished for warmth, and that's the opportunity for me to place in Eri.**

 **I also made Kota somewhat hostile towards her at first since it was the 'realistic' reaction that someone would get when someone unexpected shows up on an occasion like this. Don't forget to favorite/follow and review! Thanks a bunch for finishing the read and I'm glad to be back to updating this story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A:N/ You know how I make short drabbles for this story before? Well... I decided to make this a fully-fledged long fic. It wouldn't be focusing much on Kota and Eri fighting over Deku, but the premise would still be about Kota and Eri throughout the years as they both are growing up. There was no age given to estimate how Eri and Kota would be at this moment, but judging from looks, I'm making Kota and Eri around 8-9 years old at the start of this fic. The time skips would probably happen later on as the story progresses, but this should be fine for now.**

 **P.S: Review if you can!**

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Warmth

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The trip back to the Heights Alliance was pretty silent for the two children. Kota kept sneezing and even staggered on his movements after a while, alarming Eri in the process. The boy was soaked to the bone after standing in the cold rain earlier. He kept his balance with Eri's help, but Eri was more concerned about the heat that was building up from Kota.

"Eri… I don't feel so good…" Kota huffed and let out a cough.

"Darling…? We're almost there… Just wait a little bit more…"Eri voiced out her concerned, seeing the flushed look on Kota's face. The boy didn't answer. Kota fell on his knees and onto the soaked pavement "Darling!" not long after, Eri called for help immediately after hauling Kota onto her back. Eri panicked inside, fighting through her tears when she was yelling out for help.

"Anyone…? Please help!" the girl cried out as they got near the U.A's school grounds. Luckily for the two children, Aizawa was passing by. "Mr. Aizawa! Please help Darling!" within a few minutes Kota was taken into the infirmary by Aizawa. Eri was sent back to the Height's Alliance by Aizawa, much to the girl's protests.

"So… Is the boy alright?" Aizawa asked after being dragged into the situation. Recovery Girl was fairly concerned while running through her analysis on Kota's fever.

"Sonny boy here's sick from a high fever, possibly due to stress and from walking under the rain earlier." Recovery Girl replied, running a hand on Kota's sweaty forehead.

"Can I leave him here in your care? I still have my late class to attend to." After getting the nod of approval from Recovery Girl, Aizawa left the infirmary. Recovery Girl was currently arranging some medicine for Kota while waiting for somebody to come for him.

"What have you gotten yourself into, 'ya little rascal?" The old woman chuckled, puffing up Kota's pillow so that the boy could rest more comfortably.

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 _Dream Sequence_

Kota woke up and was back at their old house in his old bedroom. The boy stiffened and looked around his old room, various posters littering his hero idols as well as some motivational posters focusing on All-Might. He got up and went over to his desk, peering over to the opened notebook that was laid there.

"Oh… I remember this…" Kota had a grim smile on his face when he saw the familiar assignment that was written on his notebook. "I want to be a hero like my parents one day… Stupid essay…" Kota closed the notebook with a sigh. The boy quietly sat on his bed, trying to get his bearings together to figure out what was happening.

A knock from the other side of the room snapped Kota out of his thoughts. "Honey, me and your Dad are going out on a mission okay?" His mother entered the room dressed in her hero costume.

"Mom…?" Kota felt his blood run cold when he put together what day this exactly was. His memory from this day was as clear as three years ago. "Don't go…" he pleaded to his mother, running up to her to hug the woman.

His father shortly entered the room to see Kota and his mom having an intimate moment.

"Awww don't you worry 'bout us, Champ! We'll be back before you know it!" His father chuckled, taking off his lucky cap that he always wore along with his hero costume and passing it onto Kota.

"Tell 'ya what? You hold onto my lucky cap until we get back, okay? Think you can do that?" Nariyuki smiled at his son, pulling the three of them into a hug.

"You can't leave! You're going to go up against a dangerous villain!" Kota broke the hug and protested. Nariyuki and Itsuki looked at each other with concern, wondering what was going on with Kota's sudden outburst. "Please don't go…" Kota weakly begged, yet all that he felt was the loving kisses of both of his parents and the warmth of their hugs before they left.

"We love you son, don't ever forget…." Itsuki smiled as the two of her and Nariyuki disappeared into dandelion blooms. Kota bawled his eyes out, feeling the familiar pain and impending doom that would befall onto his parents.

Kota tried to reach out to them at the last moment, but fell short. "They're gone… Again…" he contemplated through his shaking hands. He felt more tears stinging his face as he angrily wiped them away. "Why am I so stupid to believe that they won't leave?!" he cried again, getting more upset.

 _End of dream sequence_

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A few hours had passed since Kota was admitted into the infirmary. Deku and Eri were on their way to the infirmary when they overheard Recovery Girl and Aizawa talking about Kota in a concerned toned.

"This is getting pretty bad… The boy is having nightmares, what's worse is I can't wake him up…" Recovery Girl said to Aizawa, making the man frown and look over to the boy from the window with concern. "I'm afraid we'll just have to wait until he gets better…" Deku immediately went over to the two adults and asked them about Kota in concern.

"I take it that this rascal was in your care, Midoriya?" asked Aizawa in a stern tone. Deku could only nod when he saw Kota's condition, feeling guilty that he couldn't help Kota out earlier. "Did you know that he was brought in by Eri earlier?" Aizawa once again asked while Deku nodded.

"Eri told us what happened earlier…" Eri peered into the window to see Kota lying in bed. The little girl shuffled awkwardly in her place, feeling a little guilty as well as uneasy because of Kota's sick condition.

"Granny… Can I see Darling now…?" her eyes pleaded to Recovery Girl as she tugged onto the old woman's coat. Recovery Girl wouldn't allow visitors, but Eri was a special case. "Pretty please…? I promise not to make any noise…" Eri asked again, feeling anxious what the nurse would say. Recovery Girl chuckled and gave her the green light, patting on Eri's head.

The old woman took out a face mask on her coat before handing it to the little girl. "Here you go, sweetie. Now remember, your friend's quirk is based on water, so the room would feel a little steamy. You might get dizzy if you stay too long. Just try to avoid waking him up, okay sweetie?" as per Recovery Girl's approval, only Eri was allowed inside. Deku and the older woman stayed behind as the little girl put on her face mask and entered the room. "She's a sweet little thing, isn't she?" Recovery Girl smiled, looking at the little girl made the old woman miss her granddaughter more.

"She's a really kind girl…" Deku nodded.

When Eri entered the room, she felt the heat that was radiating off of Kota. The boy's quirk had an effect whenever he feels ill the room became foggy and a bit too warm for Eri. She went over to the sleeping boy and saw his sleeping face.

Eri cupped Kota's cheek and frowned. "Darling…?" she muttered. Kota was sound asleep, probably not hearing what Eri was saying at the moment. The little girl squeezed Kota's hand and sat beside the boy. "Hey Darling… Promise me you'll tell me when it hurts okay…?" she felt her hand feeling warm as the horn on her head started to protrude a little more than it already has. "Please…. Please… Don't scare me Darling… Please… Get better soon..." she sighed and rested her forehead onto Kota's, feeling the sick boy's heat. "Huh…? Did my horn get bigger…?" she pondered, touching the horn on her head and feeling its gentle heat radiating off on her hand.

Eri was taken aback when her horn felt a little different than she was used to. She felt that it grew a little. From her hand that was still holding onto Kota's, Eri felt him squeeze her hand after a while. "Mhmm… Mom…?" Kota felt his head dizzy when he stirred awake. The young boy's vision was blurry, still feeling flushed from his fever. "W-Where… Am… I?" he muttered, not minding Eri who was shocked to see him awake. Kota's eyes kept scanning the room until his eyes fell on his hand where Eri was holding it. "E... ri? What are you doing here…?" Eri didn't respond, instead she stayed silent and slowly unwrapped her hand from Kota's. "H-Hey! Are you crying…?" Kota panicked, seeing Eri wiping away small streaks of tears that was falling on her face.

Eri smiled in relief as she held onto her heart. Kota couldn't comforted her in his weakened state, but the boy kept pestering Eri what he did wrong so that he can make it up to her.

"Darling… Do you feel a little better now…?" Eri asked with her biggest and brightest smile. Kota nodded and told her about the nightmare that he had earlier. "Darling, does it still hurt?" Kota couldn't look at Eri in the eye. He would be lying if he denied that he wasn't crying earlier in his sleep. He still felt the red puffiness in his eyes.

"Hey… Don't worry about me. We're still kids you know, adults do the worrying for us…" Kota grumbled, hiding his face from under his cap that he took from the nightstand table. "Yeah… I'm okay. You don't have to keep on worrying about me…" Eri chuckled and nodded happily. "Wanna watch cartoons together?" Kota then offered with a weak smile. He didn't wait for Eri's answer when he made some space on the bed for her to lay down on with him. Eri climbed onto the bed and laid beside Kota as he turned on the television from afar. "Hey… Eri…?" Kota asked as his eyes were still transfixed on the kid's movie that they were watching.

"Yeah? What is it Darling?" Eri turned to face Kota, giving the boy her full attention. Kota gulped and shook his head when he saw Eri's curious eyes on him. "You okay?" she asked once more, to which Kota quickly coughed and nodded.

"What I meant to say is…" as Kota was reaching in to lower the volume of the show that they were watching, he accidentally changed the channel.

" **I love you!"** the two kids yelped and looked away from each other when the show that was playing on the television was a romantic film from way before the two of them were even born. Eri and Kota were still spooked, wondering why the air between them suddenly became awkward.

Eri waited for Kota to speak again, but Kota was too flustered and dizzy to speak. "What were you going to say, Darling?" Eri sneaked a glance towards Kota and saw that the boy was asleep. She couldn't help but giggle at Kota's adorable sleeping face. "Hey… Darling, we'll always be together… Won't we?" Eri smiled and leaned her head onto Kota. The two children were found later by Deku and his friends, both kids were asleep and leaning to each other like the precious cinnamon rolls they are.

"Mina!" the girls grabbed their pink-skinned friend to snap a few pictures of the two sleeping children. Everyone was in high spirits, seeing the two precious children sleeping peacefully together made their hearts flutter.

Recovery Girl was smiling at the group of kids when she noticed something different about Eri. "Interesting…." The old woman chuckled. "She'd be a great nurse one day." Recovery Girl could feel her excitement from her old bones. Quirks that can heal people are very rare in the school. Apart from Recovery Girl, there was no one in recent years that has shown to possess this extraordinary ability.

End

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 **A:N/ So this story recently got plenty of hits, I'm really happy for all the support that you gave me! Anywho, if you have further questions regarding the story, please PM me or tell me in the reviews. As for the content of the story as a whole, I think I'll be bumping up the rating in the future and adjusting things here and there. All to make it a great experience for you all to read! See you in the next chapter and don't forget to follow/favorite this while you're at it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A:N/ I'll be turning down the sweetness factor of this story a bit. I want to establish some solid ground on the plot before I try sweetening it up as it already is. Anyway, this chapter is meant to kick-start a two-part chapter arc. Anyway, writing for the characters feels like a 50-50 at this point, it's really a hit or miss with the readers, so I try and ask myself "Would they realistically ask or do this thing?" before I write the paragraph or dialogue.**

 **P.S: I update frequently, but still have no specific date. I normally update either once or twice weekly, so that's for the guest who was wondering.**

 **Just to answer a few questions:**

 **1\. The story would not time skip to Kota and Eri's high school years, the most I had in mind was the period of the two of them going off to high school (Also don't expect some hot romance if you're into that.)**

 **2\. I'll go further into detail later on about the significance of Eri calling Kota 'Darling' like how Zero Two would call Hiro 'Darling'. Just stick around for a bit and I'll deliver a great story to you all.**

* * *

Calm Before The Storm

* * *

Recovery Girl was smiling to herself as she submitted some reports to Principal Nezu. The old woman was excited in relaying the news to Nezu when she conducted some tests with Eri. Recovery Girl and Eri had been doing some 'Special Training' for the past few days since Kota got sick. It caught the attention of Nezu whom asked for the child and old woman to come to his office.

"This is such a great improvement, Eri-chan!" Nezu smiled warmly at the child and patted her on the head. Maybe there was a way for Eri to live a normal life. "How do you go about controlling your quirk again? Does it ever go off without you noticing?" Nezu flipped through the pages of the report by Recovery Girl and read through her findings while listening to Eri and Recovery Girl's story.

"Oh don't you worry about a thing Nezu-kun, I've been teaching Eri-chan some psychological techniques to keep herself calm. She won't be losing control of her quirk anymore." It had been tough for the first few days. Eri's quirk was rewinding the state of bodies, which meant that her quirk is a powerful one that can either kill or save a life. "Hopefully they'll be able to understand now that the child needs to lead a normal life as well…" The old woman smiled wisely, petting Eri's hair while keeping the child close.

"Granny… Do you think I'm ready…?" Eri quietly asked. "I know we've practiced a lot… But I think I don't know yet…" there were still plenty of doubts, but that is the way things are for Eri. The girl had been fully aware of the things that her quirk can do, which is why she takes extra precaution whenever trying to understand using her quirk and its capabilities.

Recovery Girl planted her hands on Eri and reassured the little girl. "Ohh little one, just remember the first thing I've taught you and you'll be fine!" the older woman reassured with a smile. "Always-"

"Always have plenty of patience…" Eri finished Recovery Girl's motto with her own smile.

Principal Nezu smiled at the both of them before typing in the filed reports from Recovery Girl. "I'll send these results in. For the time being, why don't you go out and play, Eri-chan?" Nezu offered the already-excited girl. "Would you like to invite over Kota-kun to the fireworks festival tomorrow night? I heard some students talking about it earlier. It'll be a great experience for you as well." Eri felt elated and couldn't stop nodding while thanking Nezu at the same time.

In a fleeting moment of doubt, the little girl held her breath as if asking if all this were real. "Can… I really…? No one would get mad…?" she asks Nezu with pleading eyes, hoping the principal wouldn't go back on his words.

"Don't worry! You're going to be supervised, so I don't think there'll be any trouble if any at all. I've also been making extra sure that you'll be able to go to a normal school pretty soon. Just don't think about the adult stuff for now, okay Eri-chan?" Eri ran up to Nezu to hug the principal in gratitude. "Alrighty now 'ya little rascal, run along. I need to fill out some forms here with Recovery Girl before I get you cleared out for good." Nezu pet Eri's hair before letting her out of the room. Nezu was shuffling through the papers before Recovery Girl slid over an extra file towards him with a warm smile. The old woman, eagerly waited for Nezu's reaction. It had been coming to Chiyo's thoughts for the past few days after taking Eri in for extra lessons. She had grown quite attached towards the little girl and had placed her faith in making sure that the girl is properly taken care of with the love and affection that she deserved.

"Ohoho… There's this one surprise I haven't told Eri-chan yet. Care to see what it is, Nezu-kun?" from the corner of her eye, Recovery Girl could see the growing smile on Nezu's face upon opening the document.

"Are you sure about this, Chiyo-san?" reading through the papers again, Nezu saw the application form on the folder with Recovery Girl's information written on it. "Isn't this a bit too soon?" Nezu once again looked over at the old lady from across him.

Chiyo crossed her arms and looked at Nezu with her sharp eyes that only a grandmother could possess. "I miss having anyone around Nezu-kun, you know much about that. I do hope that you consider my application to become Eri-chan's legal guardian. The poor thing… She told me a lot about herself when we were meditating, you know? The little missy had been so deprived of so much…" Nezu couldn't say 'no' to that face from Recovery Girl, he also know fully fell how great Recovery Girl is around children. There was no room to argue that Recovery Girl was fit to be Eri's foster parent for the time-being.

"No promises, I'll see what I can pull in with my favors…" Nezu went back to typing on his laptop when Recovery Girl was satisfied.

* * *

The girls from class 1-A were happy to have Eri aboard on their festival plans for tomorrow. They were debating on whether they should attend in yukata's or just wear their usual civilian clothes. All was fine and dandy until Mina convinced the bunch of girls that not going into the festival in yukatas would ruin the fun.

"Why the long face, sweetie?" Momo asked Eri. The creation quirk user saw Eri's confusion when they were talking earlier about yukatas, so Momo thought that Eri was feeling left out. "Don't you want to wear a yukata?" Momo chided again. Eri nodded and pouted a little in the process.

She was twiddling with her thumbs when she told the reason why she was feeling uneasy. "Do… You think I would look cute in one… Momo nee-chan?" she looked up to the older girl, seeing Momo trying to hide her growing smile.

"Of course! You know what...? Wait right here sweetie…" Momo smiled at Eri before huddling up with the girls. Ochako and Tsuyu were the ones who suggested with simplistic ideas, while Mina and Toru suggested that they go for a goldfish motif. "Alright ladies, let's do this!"

The first thing to do was getting Eri's measurements. After that, the group of girls along with Eri, brain stormed their yukata designs.

"Wait… Kyoka-chan? Aren't you going to wear a yukata as well?" Momo turned to her friend and saw the purple-haired hero averting her eyes. "Kyoka… You're going aren't you?" she dared to ask again.

Kyoka let her head hung low when she admitted that she hadn't worn a yukata since she was a kid. "Pikachu invited me to go to the festival with him…" she also added, seeing the teasing smirks and smug faces of her friends. Practically everyone had their respective plans with their crushes. Momo seemed to be the only one that was going to go to the festival without a date.

"So… Let me get this straight…" the creation quirk user was rubbing her temples when she saw the amount of yukatas that still needed to be bought or sown. "Only Eri-chan, Toru and I don't have dates for tomorrow night, correct?" she eyed her friends and saw them nodding their heads.

"W-Well… Kirishima kept on bugging me this year to go with him so we can rack up on festival games again like we used to in middle school…" Mina explained, she and Kirishima had been going out on a few friendly dates ever since the two came back from helping to rescue Bakugo.

Tsuyu didn't have an excuse, opting to tell the truth up front to her friends with her usual poker face. "Tokoyami asked me out yesterday, I couldn't say no to him and Dark Shadow when they ask so nicely." It was speculated from among the girls that Tsuyu and Fumikage would make a great couple due to their calm natures. Both of the two had also been reading buddies, often being found parched atop trees at night, reading together. Tsuyu was excited herself when Tokoyami offered to take her to the festival, accepting her classmate's invitation without another thought.

They then turned to Ochako and sniggered. Knowing the chestnut-haired heroine, the group is already well-aware about her obvious crush on Midoriya. "I didn't get invited by Deku…?" Ochako played it off easy before getting shook by Mina.

"What do you mean that you didn't get invited?! Come on Ochako-chan, are you serious?" Ochako gulped and felt the heavy stares coming from her friends coupled with Eri's innocent look of curiosity towards her.

"But Ochako nee-chan...? Deku-nii was so excited when you agreed to meet in secret-" Ochako jumped towards Eri's spot and covered the girl's mouth. She was flushed in embarrassment and felt Mina's accusing finger pointing towards her.

"AHA! Caught red-handed by Eri-chan! Though why did you still have to hide it, Ochako-chan?" Hugged Eri before letting the girl go, apologizing quickly before dusting herself off.

"Well… Deku told me that he wanted to tell me something… Which is why we originally planned on not telling anyone that we would be meeting up." She admitted. Needless to say, a lot of whistling and nudging followed suit on Ochako. The group of girls concluded that it was probably a confession; which is why they needed to dress Ochako up extra nicely for tomorrow night.

"Alright alright... Now that everything's cleared up… We should probably start with our preparations." Momo smiled, but something deep down in her wished that she would also be invited out on a date tomorrow by Todoroki.

Eri couldn't understand the concept of dating yet. She got up and asked Toru, holding onto the invisible girl's hand.

"Toru nee-chan, what's dating like?" she looked up and hoped that Toru was looking towards her. "Isn't it just two people hanging out?" Eri added, wondering what got her older friends in a hectic mood.

"Well yeah… But dating is sort of like a special play-date! You hold hands; you feed each other and act all lovey-dovey!" Momo chuckled and went over to Eri and Toru.

"Do you have someone in mind that you want to date, Eri-chan? A crush perhaps?" the older girl asked. Eri looked confused and wondered if Kota would like this 'dating' thing.

"I don't know… Does Darling count?" she asked innocently, getting a head pat in return and a quiet smile.

"Maybe when you're older?" Tsuyu suggested to them before joining in Ochako and Mina on the table to draw some designs for her yukata. Eri was left with Tsuyu's words, wondering what the older girl meant when she said when they get older.

\- End

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 **A:N/ I probably need to add in the guys' perspective after you finished reading, huh? If you're curious about the romance bit of this story, I won't make it as convenient as you think? I want to try and drawing it out between respective ships to try and add more depth towards their characters. You see... I feel a bit awkward now, writing ships and all. I often read too much cheesy plots coming from FanFic. But I do guess that's what gets the attention you know? Anyway, enough off this and that, see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Hoped you enjoyed it all, I would probably be updating again by saturday or friday.**

 **Review and do all that jazz, if you have some requests or inputs, please don't be afraid to PM me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A:N/ So this would be a two-part chapter, it became too long for me to write so I decided to cut the chapter in two parts - the first being about the night before the festival and the second part being the festival itself when it happens the next day. This chapter is meant to be a fan service one, no Eri x Kota on this chapter, so please don't be too disappointed. Tell me your thoughts in the reviews after you finish reading!**

* * *

Stuck In Love pt. 1

* * *

Kyoka x Denki

The moon was high up in the sky when Kyoka went out for her night walk through the gardens of U.A. It had become a habit of hers to sneak out after curfew. It calmed the musician-at-heart heroine, giving great comfort from the quiet ambiance of the open night air. The chilly night breeze made the girl huddle up against her favorite spot, underneath her favorite tree on a nice patch of grass that was surrounded by a flowerbed. Kyoka's spirits were lifted up when she brought out her guitar with her, something that she doesn't do often out in the often. The girl fished out her notebook and left it on her new working progress song.

"Here goes nothing…" she muttered quietly, keeping her guitar close as she started strumming the chords of her song.

 **(Play the song: Stuck In Love by Kim Kyung Hee)**

"How can I… Get over you…" Kyoka was singing her best in her hushed tone. The melodic sound of her guitar however, filled the night, garnering the attention of a certain blonde haired hero who heard Kyoka's song from all the way up to his room. Denki caught wind of Kyoka playing her guitar out in the open and immediately ran down the dorms to sneak out.

"Man… What has gotten into me… This is so lame…" he chuckled to himself, as he hid behind a few bushes. He was just near enough to hear Kyoka's soothing voice. The boy's heart clenched with each strum from her guitar. He felt his knees buckling down and his face getting flushed. "Man… How is she this good…" Denki grumbled, listening quietly and trying to catch a recording of Kyoka signing on his phone. "Hope she doesn't get too mad at me for doing this…"

"We go where… Nobody has ever been… And we come again from the place we have never known…" From Denki's spot, he then heard Kyoka's muffled cries. He felt something was wrong when he heard Kyoka's sad voice, he'd heard her secretly a million times by now. He can distinguish when she's singing because she's happy and when she's sad. This was one of the few times that Denki's air of confident bravado proved ineffective. He wanted to comfort Kyoka at this time, but how? The blonde racked up his brain for any ideas. "You can come out now… Dummy." Kyoka lightly chuckled.

"Uh oh… Busted." He replied to the once crying girl. Denki held up his hands in surrender and went over to Kyoka's spot, plopping down beside his date for tomorrow. "Hey Kyo… What's the matter?" he gently asked.

"It's stupid… You'll only laugh at me if I tell you." She averted her eyes. It didn't sit well with Denki however he took the initiative of taking Kyoka's hands so that her eyes would meet his. "Look at you… 'O so confident again with your dumb ideas…" Denki stared at her blankly, unable to understand what Kyoka was saying with her vague retort.

He let go of her hands and sighed in exasperation. "Kyo what's wrong? Come on, you're never this emotional or love sick-" once he pieced together what Kyoka had said earlier, Denki's eyes immediately fluttered back at Kyoka and saw the girl trying desperately to get away and cover her blushing face. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" Denki asked seriously, facing Kyoka and looking at her with apologetic eyes.

Kyoka shook her head. "It's not like that… You just make me feel weird." She explained simply, huddling up her knees and resting her chin on it. Denki lightly nudged her and chuckled. This annoyed Kyoka in the process. "Denki I swear if you say something stupid again, I will stab you with my ear jacks-"

"You're right, I'm weird. I'm obnoxious and loud. I probably mess everything up before I even get the chance to do it right. But you know what…?" Denki stood up confidently with a gentle smile on his face. "I'm glad that you gave this loser a chance! I'll be a great hero who can rightfully stand by you, remember that!" Denki finished, jabbing his thumb over to his heart with his most-confident grin. Kyoka was speechless. She couldn't fathom the passionate words that just came out of Denki's mouth. Unable to say anything more, Kyoka felt her lips tugging upwards on a bright smile. Denki offered her a hand and waited for her to reply back.

"I know you will." She simply said. Kyoka took Denki's hand and pulled the boy closer to her, she then wrapped both of her arms around Denki for a hug. "I'll murder you in your sleep if you dare tell anyone I was being this weird." Kyoka whispered into Denki's ear, feeling the boy flinch under her grasp.

"Y-Yes ma'am…" Denki squeaked out, returning the bright smile that Kyoka gave him with his own half-assed 'This-girl-is-going-to-be-the-death-of-me-smile'.

* * *

Momo x Shoto

* * *

Momo was still sewing late at night. She was down on the last yukata that needed to be made. This one was hers, so the naturally perfectionist side of her painstakingly had to make the design intricate. Momo felt her shoulders stiffening from sowing and cutting fabric all day. It brought to her a sense of pride however, seeing her friends jumping excitedly at their well-made yukatas. There was no room for relaxing for Momo. It was getting a little bit too late for her tastes. She took another glance at the clock and didn't notice that it was already midnight when she had finally finished sowing her yukata.

Taking one last longing look on her most-recent work, Momo dusted herself off and smiled at the beautiful yukata in front of her. "There we go… I'm finally finished." Momo planned to go over to the kitchen island to fix up a nice warm cup of tea. Tea at this time always helped her sleep well. Her legs had other plans though. When Momo stood up a little too quickly, she felt her legs buckle down. Momo prepared for the inevitable landing on her face, the girl winced and braced herself for impact.

A hand grabbed onto her and she heard a loud crash near hear afterwards. "Woah there, Momo-san… Are you alright?" Momo stared blankly at Shoto's mismatched-colored eyes. She was taken aback by their closeness and immediately pushed the boy away. "Oh right… I'm sorry for the mess, let me clean this up." Shoto said a bit awkwardly, shifting his gaze back on the shattered pieces of the tea cup. "You should really get some sleep now, Yaoyorozu-san. Excuse me for a bit while I clean this up." It was painfully awkward for the two of them. Momo was flabbergasted. She didn't know if she had hurt Shoto's feelings or not.

"Hey… Uhm… Thanks for catching me earlier." She said quietly towards Shoto who was frantically wiping away the spilled tea. "I'm sorry for pushing you… I got surprised." Momo added again, still not hearing another word coming out from Shoto. The room was still silent the only sound to be heard was Shoto picking up shards of the tea cup while Momo tried to help him. "Hey… Can we talk?" she asks the quiet boy. Shoto glanced back at her before averting his eyes.

"Was I overreacting…?" he asked her curiously. Shoto then held up arm that held up his freezing quirk, looking at has hand as if he's ashamed of it. "I still don't know how to act towards you… Even after teaming up to fight against Aizawa-sensei… I just… Don't know if it's alright if I tried getting to know you better." Shoto mustered the courage to finally say what was bothering him on the back of his mind. It during that time with their fight against their teacher that the boy realized that he was only focusing on himself for so long, that he didn't notice that there was also someone like him that was trying her best.

"Well… I wouldn't say that I wasn't surprised when you caught me. I guess you were also freaked out when I freaked out. Does that make sense?" Momo chuckled at her silly self. It was one of the few instances that she got to laugh on her mistakes. Shoto simply nodded back and stared at her. "What? Is there anything else you wanted to hear?" Momo teased, hoping that her secret crush would finally notice the subtle signs.

"I was wondering what that yukata you were making was for…" Shoto coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Are you going to that festival tomorrow?" he asked, seeing Momo nodding back.

"Yup, you guessed it right! The girls and I were supposed to as a group, but some of them apparently had dates." Momo then twiddled with her thumbs and was debating on whether she should just ask Shoto out. "W-Would you like to go with me? I mean if you're not busy with training you know!" Momo laughed and tried to play it cool, feeling more and more embarrassed when she saw Shoto's blank face staring at her.

"Okay." He nodded with a pensive look. "I'll go to bed now." Shoto was still processing what had happened, happening to be going on the wrong direction before Momo pointed it out to him.

"That's not the way to your room…" Momo pointed out with a blank stare on her face. Seeing Shoto's flustered face flashed for a moment before the boy sprinted up the dormitory. Momo then fell on her knees, not feeling the urge for tea anymore. Her heart was beating wildly and it took her another moment to realize that Shoto accepted her invitation for tomorrow.

"Was that a yes?" she asks herself while cupping her cheeks, feeling the heat rising up on them.

Back at Shoto's room, the boy locked himself up and grabbed his phone. Shoto's hand kept shaking, causing the temperature of the room around him to become cold and freeze a little. The boy's heart was beating wildly on his chest, unable to get the image of Momo out of his head.

"Nee-chan… What do I do when a girl asked me out?"

* * *

Tsuyu x Fumikage

* * *

Tsuyu and Fumikage were parting ways when Dark Shadow nudged forward his partner. Dark Shadow teased the two of them, egging on Fumikage for not taking the initiative towards Tsuyu after asking her out. On the other hand, Tsuyu was passive towards Fumikage, she felt nothing but comfort when she was with the calm hero.

"Did your yukatas get finished?" Fumikage asked. They were heading upstairs towards their rooms at the time. The stars were shining brightly from the windows, illuminating the dark halls of the dormitory. The moonlight also made Dark Shadow take up a harrowing figure, intimidating most that would get close to Fumikage apart from Tsuyu who saw Dark Shadow's night form as 'cool' instead of 'scary'.

Tsuyu nodded happily and smiled. "Yes, Momo-chan managed to finish them all. How about you guys? What are the other guys planning during the festival?" Tsuyu asked back. The two of them reached the middle of the hallways when Fumikage noticed.

"I don't know about the rest of them… But I think some of them like Midoriya and Kaminari are going on dates if I recall." It was now time for the two of them to part, eliciting an air of silence between them. Tsuyu waved Fumikage and Dark Shadow off before she started walking back to her room. Fumikage grabbed her hand before she could go, causing Tsuyu to turn around in confusion.

"Something on your mind?" she asks in confusion while tilting her head. Fumikage nodded and felt through his pockets the hand-made bracelets that he wanted to give to Tsuyu. The boy hesitated at the last second, shoving the bracelets deeper into his pockets before scratching his head in an attempt to casually play it off.

"N-Nothing much, I just wanted to say goodnight to you before you leave…" he nonchalantly said to Tsuyu, peeking an eye towards the girl to see her lightly blushing.

"Okay then, goodnight to you as well, you too Dark Shadow." Tsuyu smiled before leaving the pair. Fumikage sighed and leaned back onto a wall; slipping down in a crouching position with his hand feeling the bracelets on his pockets.

"Totally lame…" he grunted before picking himself up to walk back into his room with his head hung low.

* * *

Ochako x Izuku

* * *

Ochako retrieved her yukata from Momo earlier at the girl's room. The heroine was now looking nervously at her yukata that was folded neatly on her desk. It had been a long time since Ochako had worn a yukata, tomorrow was to be her third time wearing one, so the girl didn't know if she'd look great in one. She sighed before plopping down on her bed to rest for tomorrow.

"I wonder what He's doing right now…" she grumbled, opening her phone to send Deku a quick text.

[Hey… Are you still up?] she texted waiting for her date tomorrow to reply if he were ever awake. Deku immediately saw the message that Ochako sent him, typing a quick reply at her message.

[I can't sleep.] it read simply, Ochako giggled and imagined Deku fumbling around in bed with his All-Might covers. The adorable thought passed by the girl's mind, causing her to blush a little when she imagined Deku's heart-melting smile that would follow whenever he would spend time with her or All-Might.

A small moment of panic happened when Ochako realized that she had been daydreaming again.[Why so?] she quickly replied back after reading Deku's message.

[I can't tell…] he then replied back to Ochako. Ochako became concerned and tried to pry some details from Deku. [Don't be worried! I was just thinking about stuff!] Deku rebutted towards Ochako's prying.

[Promise me that you'll tell me tomorrow? I can't sleep if I keep on worrying about you…] Ochako frowned, hoping that Deku would give her some answers.

[Promise, I'll see you tomorrow then, Uraraka-san!] Deku then went offline after sending his last message to Ochako.

Ochako rolled around her bed and screamed on her pillow in frustration with a few mixed feelings here and there. She became suddenly agitated that Deku couldn't tell her something that was bothering him. She pouted and hugged her pillow close, hoping that tomorrow would be fine for the two of them.

"I wonder what's going on in his mind…?" Ochako murmured before resting for the night.

Over at Deku's room, the boy's bed had been a mess. He was worrying about what would happen during his date with Ochako tomorrow that he didn't notice that he was overthinking things. He fell down on his bed and re-read their previous conversations together on his phone. A small smile tugged on his lips when he scrolled up to see Ochako's wide smile during their school festival. Deku felt warm seeing her.

"Tomorrow… For sure." He covered his mouth to hide the growing smile on his face. "All-Might was no help today…" he grumbled before going to sleep himself.

\- End

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 **A:N/ I think I need to go back a few chapters and finish re-editing some of them. If you ever find some errors or things that I've missed, point them out to me thru PM or in the reviews so I can fix the chapter. Currently, I've only edited the 1st chapter, so go read it if you haven't. Also, I added a few bits of extras in some chapters, which is why I'm encouraging people that have read this story to re-read some chapters! Have a good Saturday everyone!**

 **P.S: Like I've said in the previous chapter, I'll be updating this story every tuesday and saturday.**

 **EDIT: Thank you for pointing that spell error Chadtayor020! Much appreciated bruv!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A:N/ Hey there everyone! I'm back after a few months of taking a break from writing. So sorry that this chapter would be a short one. I'm going to be putting this out so that I can have a fresh start towards the next chapter. Be sure to check it out when it comes out! Also, I'm going to be doing another line of edits for my works, namely the focus would be making the chapters easier to read, the dialogues to be specific. Each line of dialogue will now start on its own line and not be stuck on paragraphs. I found that format to be the easiest to read after some much testing.**

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Stuck In Love pt. 2

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Kota gazed up the ceiling of his room, still unable to process what Eri had asked him yesterday. The boy had been up all night trying to figure out why he accepted Eri's invitation without a second thought. It pained him when a memory of his parents flashed in his mind. When he was younger, the three of them went to similar festivals. He promised himself that he would try and let them go, but there were still lingering feelings that he felt. Kota rolled around in bed and mumbled words of frustration.

"Eri would be upset if I don't go tomorrow…" the boy murmured. Eri made sure that he promised her that they would go to the festival together to have a great time.

A faint knock from the other side of Kota's room got his attention.

"Kota, what time does the festival start? I'll drive you there later on so just tell me what time is it going to start." He got up and opened his door to see Shino standing with a small smile on her face. The woman ruffled his already-messy bed hair with tenderness and sighed.

"Are you excited?" Shino asked, crouching down to meet with Kota's eyes. He averted her gaze and nodded silently. Something about Kota's lack of a verbal response made Shino's maternal instincts say that he isn't happy at all.

"Kota… Come here…" Shino pulled Kota in for a hug. At first, Kota didn't know why she suddenly pulls him for a hug. Shino's smile at him said otherwise. The woman had an idea why Kota was suddenly feeling blue.

"It starts at noon." Kota quipped. Shino nodded and went out of Kota's room to give the boy some space after smothering him with affection earlier. A smile found its way on Kota's lips before Shino could leave. He thanked his aunt for always being there for him even if he couldn't open up that much to her.

"Thanks Shino…" he muttered before the woman could leave. Kota instantly felt relieved when he was constantly being reassured by Shino. It was one of those rare moments with her when he realized that he still had someone to turn to even if he couldn't say what he wanted.

The next morning, Kota went out of the house for his daily routine. He was on his way to the shrine near their house to pray, when he met a familiar face. Kota came face to face with U.A.'s Principal Nezu. The animal smiled and waved at him. The two of them went up to the shrine to pray together.

Nezu turned towards Kota after they finish their prayers.

"Kota-kun, are you excited for the festival tonight?" Kota turned his head at Nezu and shook his head. There was no use lying to Nezu. The boy trusted the animal enough to not have to lie. He knew that Nezu was a perceptive animal, so lying really had no use in the long run.

Kota kept his head down and used his hat to cover his face.

"I keep on remembering about my parents. We used to go to festivals like that a few years ago…" he admitted, reminiscing the times when he would be jumping up and down in excitement at the thought of the small family going to a festival.

"I kinda regret it now… I shouldn't have promised Eri that I would go with her." Nezu hummed and took into consideration what Kota had revealed to him. It wasn't a surprise that Kota was still bothered by his parents' deaths, but he still wanted to cheer the boy up.

Nezu looked around and found a place nearby for the two of them to sit. He went over the stone chairs and invited Kota to join him. Nezu thought that it was best for Kota that they don't dwell on the subject about his parents too much. He decided to change the topic of the conversation into a more casual one; one that was far from the topic of Kota's parents or any bad memory that could follow.

"Kota-kun, what do you want to become when you grow up?" Nezu asks, seeing Kota ponder about the question.

"I want to protect smiles! Just like what Aniki did for me!" Kota grins at Nezu. He never specified what he wanted to do someday. Kota only knew that he wanted to protect smiles like Deku. He wanted to become a hero, but couldn't say it outright because he wasn't ready to.

Nezu was taken aback by Kota's answer. He was astonished by Kota's enthusiastic answer. The boy had been through so much, yet he still remains strong.

"That's great Kota-kun! Come to U.A when you're old enough. You have the heart to become a great hero one day." Nezu pats Kota's head before taking his leave. The principal gave Kota some time to think. Nezu wondered where Kota might go from his words of encouragement. He pegged that the boy would somehow follow the footsteps of his parents and become great heroes like them someday.

Kota waved off Nezu before looking up the sky with a grin on his face. He held up his hand and fired off his quirk in the air, making a few droplets that fell down from the canopy of the trees. He reveled in the small happiness that he felt when Nezu told him that he can be a great hero one day. He was glad that he met the kind principal on his way to the shrine.

"I'll definitely protect smiles one day!" Kota pumped his fist in the air with determination. He wanted to become like his parents, brave and caring people that helped others through the face of danger.

~ End

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 **A:N/ Review if you can! I'm open to more suggestions in the future. Lately I've been getting the itch to start up my old stories that are just collecting dust here. Hope everyone enjoys the story, I'm aiming to finish this by early next year if time will allow it. I've still yet to come up with a definite plot for the story, but I'm currently drafting up possible conflicts for it. This chapter is meant to set the mood for the up coming ones.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A:N/ Thank you all so much for reading this up to the ending! This is the last chapter of "A Place We Belong" I hope you guys enjoyed the ride, but all good things must come to an end. It has been a blessing for me to have go so far in this story. Thank you again and I'll see you all in the next story in the future!**

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Stuck In Love pt. 3 - Ending

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The fireworks display was a myriad of colors that Kota could never forget. He held his breath while watching it with Eri beside him. The young boy smiled widely.

"I'm happy." Kota said to Eri with his eyes twinkling with elation.

"Promise me that we'll always stay together?" Eri asked Kota as she held out her pinky towards the boy. Kota didn't think twice before wrapping his pinky with Eri's.

"I promise."

They two kids went home shortly after the fireworks display. Shino drove them back to U.A. and allowed Kota to stay over for the night with Eri. The two kids laid out two futons and soon tucked themselves in for the night.

"Hey, Eri"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to become a cool hero one day like my parents." Kota turned to Eri and saw her smiling at him.

"I'll be your support then, so you'll never get hurt!" she offered. Kota chuckled at the thought. He and Eri becoming partners would be nice.

"I'm super happy that I became friends with you." Kota mumbled before going to bed. Eri clutched her hand to her chest and smiled warmly at the sleeping boy.

"I finally found a place where I belong." She replied, moving closer to Kota to snuggle with him.

~ End


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